Automatic pistol.



J. H. WESSON. AUTOMATIC PISTOL.

APPLICATION FILED N07.10, 1911.

Patented Apr. 15, 1913.

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JSEPH H. WESS'ON, 0F SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIG'NRTO SMITH & WESSON', INCORPORATED, A CORPORATIGN 0F MASSACHUSETTS.

' AUTOMATIC PISTGL.

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Specica'tion of LettersPatent.

Patented Apr. i5, 1913.

Application led November 10, 1911. Serial No. 659,529.

breech. block. is blown back by they reaction;

of the gases when the pistol is ired, the cartridges being contained ina..magazine l`o--v cated below the breechblock and acted upon by a spring which causes the uppermost cartridgein the. magazine to move into the space, behind.` the chamber when the breech block is blown back. Pistolso'f this type are also provided with a lateralopening 1n;

the frame above the magazine for the ejection of. the spent shell, this opening being exposed when the breech block is back, and closed by the breech blockl when the pistol is in condition to be tired. It is necessary,

therefore, during the time of ejection that the wallsV of the magazine should lnotf obstruct thls opening, and it has` been customary to locate lthe magazine in'a position the breech block; It vis further necessary that the magazine should .be soA constructed as to hold the cartridges against thegs'tre'ss of themagazinespring before the magazine is inserted in the pistol, in order that the magazinelmay be maintained loaded. when apart from' the pistol.y For this purpose,.the

lateral walls ofthe magazine are contracted at the top to jorm retainingwings, so that the space between the upper edges of said walls is less thanf the diameter of the cari tridge allowing somewhat less than half of the breech-end of the cartridge to project above the magazine. litherefore, the walls of the magazine are below, or on a level with, 'the lower surface of the breech block 'while' the'uppermost cartridge lies in engagementwith the lower surface of said block, itis obvious that when the breech block moves back, the, cartridge can rise, under the inuenoe of the magazine spring, only a comparatively small distance, so that only `a small art of the breech end of the cartridge w' lie in front of the breech block when the said cartridge is moved upward to the limit permitted by the magazine walls. The cartridge, therefore, lies some distance below the chamber, and must ride upward at a somewhat abrupt angle, as it is pushed forward into the chamber by the breech. block when the latter returns to its tiring position. The cartridge, therefore, is likely to catch and jam, instead of being properly inserted in the chamber. In order to obviate this difficulty and. bring the carber, I have provided the pistol with means 1 tridge into a more direct line with the chamwhereby the magazine, as aA whole, is caused to move upward toward the space in front of the breech block when the latter travels back, and to be automatically restored to a position below the breech block after the top cartridge has been inserted in the chamber. By' this expedient, the uppermost cartridge is presented morel nearly in line with the chamber, while a greater part ofthe breech end of the cartridge lies in front of the breech block, so that the action of the breech block in pushing the cartridge into the chamber is. more direct, thereby obviating, to

a greater extent, the possibilit tridge catching and being jammed.

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a pistol embodying the invention, showing the cart-rid e in the chamber, Iand the pistol in' condition to be fired; Fig. 2 is a Vertical section, on the line m2 of'Fig. 1,

y of the carthe. sect-ion being taken on a plane in the direction of the arrow; Fig.- 3 is a horizontal sectional detail on alnezr3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4

is a view, similar to Fig. l, showing the breech block back and the new cartridge in position to be inserted in the chamber; and

Fig. 5 is alvertical section, on the line m5 of Fig. 4'.

The pistol in which'- the invention is shown .as embodied, is of a well lmown type, beingl provided with the barrel 1', having the cartridge chamber 2, and the `movable breech block memberc 3, having the breech vblock 4:, which lies behind the chamber 2 and is adapted to be blown back by the action of the gases when the pistol is tired, so as to uncover the lateral opening above the magazine 5, which is shown as icc-ated in the pistol .grip 6. The magazine is of the usual construction, and consists of a casing havin vet its lateralwalls contracted at the upper en ,v

to form retaining wings, as shown at 7, Fig

` tratedin Fig. 1.

l, and being provided with a support 8 for the cartridges, which is act-ed upon by a spring 9, located between said supportv and,4 the bottom of the magazine.

The cartridges in the magazine are contained in the space between the said support 8 and the top ofthe magazine, being pressed upward by the spring, but confined by the wings 7, the uppermost cartridge projecting a short distance from the magazine, as illus- In the ordinary const-ruction, the upper walls of the magazine are substantially on a level with the bottom of the breech block, the uppermost cartridge, which .lies against the breech block, being pressed thereby a short distance into the magazine, so that when the breech block moves back and releases said cartridge, the latter will move upward as far as the wings 7 permit, so that a portion of the breech end of the cartridge will lie in front of the breech block 4, and be engaged thereby in the forward movement thereof.

In accordance with the present invent-ion, the magazine, as a whole, is provided with means whereby it is capable of automatic movement, the said magazine being shown in Fig. 1 as provided with a spring 10, one end of which bears against an abutment 12 stationary with relation to the magazine, while the other end bears against an abutment 13v which is stationary with relation to a part of the pistol, in this case the lower end of the grip 6. rlhe position of the uppermost cartridge is determined by the breech block 4, which lies over the said cartridge when the breech block is forward, as shown in i Fig. 1; and as a simple means for causing the position of the magazine 5, as a whole, to be determined in the same way the spring 10 is made weaker than the magazine spring 9, so that the latter, reacting against the bottom `of the magazine will hold the wing 7 in engagementl with the upper cartridge, against the stress of the spring 10, which is capable, however, o-f acting on the magazine, as a whole, to raise the same to the position shown in Fig. 4, whenvthe breech block 4 is carried back by the actionl of the gases. The upward movement of the magazine is limited by avvshoulder 17 near the bottom of the grip, ther-said shoulder being engaged by a projection '18 from the magazine when the magazine is in its uppermost position, as shown in Fig. '4. As soon, therefore, as the breech blocl` travels back tothe position shownln `F 1g. 4, the magazine and its contentswill be raised by the spring 10 to the positlonshownin said figure, so` that the uppermost cartridge is brought nearly in j line'withtle. chamber Q, while a greater part of its breech end'lie's directly in front' of the breech block"4,'fto beengaged by said breech block in theforward movement thereof.

lower portion of the breech block is made somewhat narrower than the body thereof, being provided with lateral recesses. at opposite sides so that it will pass between the wings longitudinally, pushing out the cartridge without engaging the wings to separate them, and without depressing the magazine. As the uppermost cartridge is pushed forward, however, the wings are released therefrom, and, at the same time, the

next cartridge in the magazine comes into contact with the breech block, as shown in Fig. l. Vhen the said cartridge, which is then the top one, is thus prevented'by the breech block from further upward movement, it is obvious thatthe magazine, as a whole, will be moved downward by the relows: Upon firing the pistol, the breech block is moved .back from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig. 4, allowing the spent shell to be ejected and y releasing the top cartridge in the magazine,

thus allowing the magazine, as a whole, to rise under the iniuence of the spring 1() to the position shown in Fig. 4. The breech block then travels forward inserting in the chamber the uppermost cartridge in the magazine, as shown in Fig. 1, and overlying the cartridge neXt below. Since the said cartridge is thus prevented from rising further, the spring 9 causes a downward movement of the magazine overcoming the stress of the spring 10 until the wings 7 engage the uppermost cartridge, as shown. The wings 7 are not engaged by the breech block at any part of the operation, since the upward movement of the magazine is limited by the shoulder 17, as hereinbefore described.

I have shown the pistol as provided with the usual ejector.- mechanism, which consists `of the extractor hook 14 which is connected with, or forms a'pa'rt of the breechblock 4, the said hook being adapted to engage in the usual way, theiange at the breech end of the cartridge, so as to form a lat-eral abutment therefor as the breech block and cartridge travel back. This hook operates in conjunctionwith the ejector which consists of a shoulder or abutment 15 located in the 'frame at the side opposite the. hook 14, so'that it engages the end of the car? tridge before the hook has completed its ejector, which is on a lower level than theextractor hook, is shown as yieldingly supported and provided with a beveled lower surface which is adapted to be engaged by' one of the magazine wings in the upward movement thereof, and pushed out of the way during the forward movement of the breech block, returning to its working position when the magazine moves downward. In the construction shown, the ejector is mounted on a spring 16 (see Fig. 3) fastened to the outside of the frame.

While the construction shown and described constitutes a practicable embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that modifications can be made in the construction, arrangement and means for operating the magazine; and it is' not intended 'to limit the invention to the specific construction which has been chosen for purposes of illustration. x

.What I claim is:

1. An automatic pistol having a stationary barrel; a cartridge magazine below and behind the barrel, said magazine having retaining wings at the top and a spring reacting between the magazine and the cartridges to hold the cartridges in contact with said wings; a traveling breech block, the lower part Aof -which is narrower than the space between said wings; and means for `producing an upward movement of said magazine into the pathof said breech block when the breech block is in its Irearward position.

2. In an automatic pistol, the combina-l tion with a stationary barrel; of a reciprocating breech block behind the barrel; a magazine located below the breech block, said magazine having an end wall and lateral walls provided withretaining wings at the top; a spring `located between. said end wall and the contents of the magazine,

` whereby the said contents and the retaining wings are held in 'engagement with each other; and means for automaticall moving said magazine into the space in ront of the breech-block, substantially as and for the purpose described. j y

3. In an automatic pistol having a stationary barrel and a reciprocating breech block behind the barrel, a movable magazine below the barrel, and means for arresting the upward movement -o'f the lmagazine when the bottom of the uppermost cartridge is substantially on a level with the bottom of the breech block.

4. An automatic pistol having a stationary barrel and a reciprocating breech block behind the barrel; a movable magazine below the barrel, said magazine comprising a cartridge chamber and a follower; means for arresting the upward movement of the magazine when the bottomo-oif the uppermost cartridge is substantially on a llevel with the bottom of the breech block; and means for producing a downward movemen-t -of the magazine relative to its follower v'after the top cartridge has been moved by the breech block.

5. A pistol having a stationary barrel and a lateral opening in the frame back of the barrel; a longitudinally movable breech block behind t-he barrel; ejector mechanism for ejecting the spent shell through said opening when the breech-block is in its rearmost position; a cartridge magazine below that part of the frame which is provided with a lateral opening; means for moving said magazine into the space between the breech block and the barrel when the breech-block has reached its rearmost position; and means independent of the breech block for moving said vmagazine out of said.

space to uncover said lateral opening.

6. A pistol having a longitudinaly movable breech block provided with an extractor hook, said breech block being provided' with a lateral recess below said hook;a yieldingly supported ejector member located in the pistol frame at the opposite side of said breech-block; a magazine located below the breech-block; means for moving said magazine into the space in frontof the breechblock, the magazine in such movement displacing said ejector member; and means for moving said magazine out of said space in response to the forward movement of the breech-block, whereby the ejector member is restored toits operative position and the ejector opening left unobstructed.

7. In an automatic pistol having a stationary barrel, a cartridge magazine below and behind the barrel, said magazine having 'retaining wings at the top, and a spring reacting between the magazine and the cartridges to hold the cartridges in contact with said wings; a travelingbreech block, the lower partA of which is narrower than the space between said wings; and a springlocated between the magazine and a fixed part of the frame, the tension of said spring being less than that of the spring reacting between the wings and the cart-ridges.

- 8. In an automatic pistol, the combination vwith a stationary barrel; of a reciprocating breech block behind said barrel; a magazine below the barrel, said magazine comprising a lcartridge lchamber and a follower; means for moving said magazine upward into the space between the barrel and the breech block; and means for moving said magazine downward with relation to its follower.

9. ln an automatic pistohthe combination with a stationary barrel; of a reciprocating breech block behind said barrel, the frame of the pistol being provided with a lateral ejector-opening behind the barrel; a maga- Zine comprising a cartridge chamber and a follower; mean for moving said magazine upward into the space between the barrel and the breech block; and means for moving said `magazine downward with relation to its 15 follower.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH H. WESSON.

Witnesses:

GEO. P. vCHAI'IN, H. LESLIE PoMERoY. 

